Let's pray for Genesis
who's discerning heaviness & oppression. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood" (Eph 6:12). Anoint with oil, pray, & trust God's deliverance (James 5:14). Praying for peace & freedom! 
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Let's lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer! @RoshanDsouza needs our support in overcoming financial debt. 
Let's lift up I am approaching 50, have two daughters in college and am newly-separated. At a time when I thought I would be enjoying the company of my husband, laughing at his all-too-familiar but still uniquely funny jokes that make him, him, I am sitting here without him by my side.
The difficulty of this situation brought out something that I have kept hidden from most—an anxiety that has lived inside of me for years. Some may have suspected, but no one could have ever really known the depths of worry, irrational fears, self-doubt and insecurities I secretly wrestled with inside. But when my husband left, which was the tipping point that exposed my secret in such a way that to this day I can’t really tell you what was going on inside my head, and even if I could I am not sure you could understand. I don’t even understand. It was truly a dark place.
But what I can tell you is that, as you’ve probably heard before, out of that darkness came surrender. And out of surrender came a brand new life. I discovered the door to God’s heart, and from there He opened up many more doors for me, and each door leads to a new room that I never even knew existed. And waiting in those rooms are new gifts, magnificently illuminated with a brand new light.
So as I sit basking in the glow of the newness of life, He is showing me yet something more. All this time, I thought that my husband was the prodigal when all along it was me. He was the prodigal, in the sense that he is the one who walked away. But I now see that even before the restoration of my marriage takes place, I am the one who is being restored and reconciled to God. I KNOW God now…well, I am getting to know Him anyway.
The story of the Prodigal Son has been one that has continually presented itself during my stand, and, in my own haughtiness, I would hear it and think “Hmmm… that applies to my man.†But I see now that it’s really talking about me. You see, much like the Prodigal Son, I was living in my Father’s house. I wanted things from Him, I whined and complained, tried to do things on my own without His guidance, and although I don’t feel like I ever left God (leaning on the shallow fact that I am a Christian and have served God all my life), I really never fully appreciated or even knew the value of my daughter-ship with him. Wow, just like the Prodigal Son!
Yes, I have been out in the world, trying to find my own way–knowing that God is the one who blessed me with my life, my job, my family and more, but still not fully acknowledging Him as the source, often taking credit for my own achievements instead of respectfully giving Him the glory He was due. I relied on everyone BUT Him–my husband, my family, and myself. I tried to be Superwoman to anyone and everyone! I filled my life up with everything else and didn’t leave room to talk to God. And I know now that without having first that relationship with God, my other relationships ultimately suffered, in particular my relationship with my husband.
Now I know that when a marriage falls apart it is never any one person’s fault. But I am ready to acknowledge my responsibility in the matter. Although others might see me as “Christ-like,†I can see clearly that, like the Prodigal Son, I have been wallowing in the mud, albeit well-meaning mud.
When I totally surrendered to God and confessed that I could no longer pretend that I could do it without Him, that’s when He started to open doors to a whole new world, a whole new life with Him. I can hardly contain myself as I ponder on not only the goodness He is bestowing on me now, but the way He has taken care of me all these years despite how I have treated Him. It’s like He kept me in His house, taking care of me, giving me things when I needed them or as He felt I could handle them. Now that I have awakened and realized how I really never knew Him or appreciated His greatness and mercy, He welcomes me with open arms, and He says to me, “Now you have been through some things, some trials and tribulations, and now you are ready to handle these other things that I have been holding onto for you for such a time as this. You will now appreciate them, and you will use them well for the benefit of others.â€
So all along, the prodigal was me. God has been waiting for me to run to His open arms, His ever-open door, so He can lead me and show me all the secret passageways and hidden rooms that I wasn’t even aware of before. I was blind but now I see. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have all the answers and I am still seeking, still learning. I am getting to know Him, learning to recognize His voice, but He knows I am on the way. He is beckoning me to come closer, running to meet me, and restoring me more and more every day!
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.†Luke 15:20
So as you pray for your prodigal’s return, ask the Lord to help you come back home too!
Standing for our suddenly,
Sharon in Indiana
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
The difficulty of this situation brought out something that I have kept hidden from most—an anxiety that has lived inside of me for years. Some may have suspected, but no one could have ever really known the depths of worry, irrational fears, self-doubt and insecurities I secretly wrestled with inside. But when my husband left, which was the tipping point that exposed my secret in such a way that to this day I can’t really tell you what was going on inside my head, and even if I could I am not sure you could understand. I don’t even understand. It was truly a dark place.
But what I can tell you is that, as you’ve probably heard before, out of that darkness came surrender. And out of surrender came a brand new life. I discovered the door to God’s heart, and from there He opened up many more doors for me, and each door leads to a new room that I never even knew existed. And waiting in those rooms are new gifts, magnificently illuminated with a brand new light.
So as I sit basking in the glow of the newness of life, He is showing me yet something more. All this time, I thought that my husband was the prodigal when all along it was me. He was the prodigal, in the sense that he is the one who walked away. But I now see that even before the restoration of my marriage takes place, I am the one who is being restored and reconciled to God. I KNOW God now…well, I am getting to know Him anyway.
The story of the Prodigal Son has been one that has continually presented itself during my stand, and, in my own haughtiness, I would hear it and think “Hmmm… that applies to my man.†But I see now that it’s really talking about me. You see, much like the Prodigal Son, I was living in my Father’s house. I wanted things from Him, I whined and complained, tried to do things on my own without His guidance, and although I don’t feel like I ever left God (leaning on the shallow fact that I am a Christian and have served God all my life), I really never fully appreciated or even knew the value of my daughter-ship with him. Wow, just like the Prodigal Son!
Yes, I have been out in the world, trying to find my own way–knowing that God is the one who blessed me with my life, my job, my family and more, but still not fully acknowledging Him as the source, often taking credit for my own achievements instead of respectfully giving Him the glory He was due. I relied on everyone BUT Him–my husband, my family, and myself. I tried to be Superwoman to anyone and everyone! I filled my life up with everything else and didn’t leave room to talk to God. And I know now that without having first that relationship with God, my other relationships ultimately suffered, in particular my relationship with my husband.
Now I know that when a marriage falls apart it is never any one person’s fault. But I am ready to acknowledge my responsibility in the matter. Although others might see me as “Christ-like,†I can see clearly that, like the Prodigal Son, I have been wallowing in the mud, albeit well-meaning mud.
When I totally surrendered to God and confessed that I could no longer pretend that I could do it without Him, that’s when He started to open doors to a whole new world, a whole new life with Him. I can hardly contain myself as I ponder on not only the goodness He is bestowing on me now, but the way He has taken care of me all these years despite how I have treated Him. It’s like He kept me in His house, taking care of me, giving me things when I needed them or as He felt I could handle them. Now that I have awakened and realized how I really never knew Him or appreciated His greatness and mercy, He welcomes me with open arms, and He says to me, “Now you have been through some things, some trials and tribulations, and now you are ready to handle these other things that I have been holding onto for you for such a time as this. You will now appreciate them, and you will use them well for the benefit of others.â€
So all along, the prodigal was me. God has been waiting for me to run to His open arms, His ever-open door, so He can lead me and show me all the secret passageways and hidden rooms that I wasn’t even aware of before. I was blind but now I see. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have all the answers and I am still seeking, still learning. I am getting to know Him, learning to recognize His voice, but He knows I am on the way. He is beckoning me to come closer, running to meet me, and restoring me more and more every day!
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.†Luke 15:20
So as you pray for your prodigal’s return, ask the Lord to help you come back home too!
Standing for our suddenly,
Sharon in Indiana
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
